I went raspberry-crazy when I brought home my raspberries from Ollin Farms. Why not add some to the BBQ sauce I was making?

For this simple BBQ sauce, I combined:

This turned out to be a labor intensive dinner, but definitely worth the effort.

I served Sweet and Sour BBQ Tuna (which is tuna steak that has been smothered in my Sweet and Sour BBQ Sauce and grilled), Sesame Soy Avocado Salad, Simple Mango Chutney, Sesame-Lime Snow Peas, grilled yellow pepper, and wild rice. I serve this with extra Sweet and Sour BBQ sauce and some of the extra pineapple onion mixture left over from making that BBQ sauce.

Definitely worth the effort.

This BBQ sauce is based off of the flavors from a traditional Vietnamese Sweet and Sour recipe given to me by an amazing chef named Duc in Hoi An, Vietnam.

First I made this pineapple and onion mix and sauteed it on medium for 10 minutes until the onions were soft and the pineapple was partially cooked. I used:

• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup pineapple, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• green onion

I combined the following ingredients and mixed well.

• 1 six ounce can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 TB soy sauce
• 2 TB rice wine vinegar
• 1 TB onion powder
• 1 TB garlic powder
• 1 TB toasted sesame oil

As always, please follow the rules to make good tofu- Buy firm or extra firm (I prefer Denver Tofu), freeze it, thaw it, press it by placing it on a hard surface with paper towels on top and bottom and a heavy surface (like a cutting board stacked with cook books) on top for 30 minutes, slice it, marinate, and bake.

For this tofu, I used my Best BBQ Sauce recipe.

Mix 1 cup BBQ sauce with 2 cups water. Pour some in a Pyrex baking dish, arrange the tofu, then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Enjoy.

I served this with my Blue Corn Cakes and sliced avocado.